The Startup Velocity Question: What Hinders Acceleration in VC Funded Companies?

I have been running 1Mby1M since 2010. I find myself saying to entrepreneurs ad nauseam that VCs want to invest in startups that can go from zero to $100 million in revenue in 5 to 7 years.

Startups that do not have what it takes to achieve velocity should not be venture funded.

Experienced VCs, over time, have developed heuristics to gauge what constitutes a high growth venture investment thesis. 

1Mby1M Udemy Courses with Sramana Mitra: Bootstrapping

Over the course of two years, we have released over 70 courses on Udemy with the aim to democratize entrepreneurship education at scale globally. This series of posts aims to help you find the one you need easily and provide you with discount coupons.

Opportunities At The Cusps: FireEye CEO Ashar Aziz (Part 1)

Ashar Aziz is the CEO of FireEye and a highly technical engineer with extensive knowledge of networking, network security, and datacenter virtualization. Prior to FireEye, Ashar founded Terraspring, a company focused on datacenter automation and virtualization that was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2002. Ashar spent twelve years at Sun as a distinguished engineer. He has a EE from MIT and a CS degree from Berkeley.

SM: To start, take us back to where your story begins.

AA: My story begins in Pakistan where I was born and grew up. >>>

Featured Videos

Anatomy of Innovation: Exodus Founder B.V. Jagadeesh (Part 1)

B.V. Jagadeesh is a successful entrepreneur and a proven leader. He was also the co-founder of Exodus Communications, a leader in the web co-location market that enjoyed a highly successful IPO. Prior to joining 3Leaf Systems as CEO, he served as group vice president and general manager of Citrix Systems’ Application Networking Group and as president and CEO of NetScaler.

SM: Jagdeesh, take us back to where your journey begins. Where were you born, where did you grow up, and where did you study?

BVJ: I was born in a small village on the outskirts of Bangalore, which is the so-called Silicon Valley of India. >>>

Conserving Cash: Veodia CEO Guillaume Cohen (Part 1)

Guillaume Cohen is the founder and CEO of Veodia, an SaaS streaming video service. Before founding Veodia, Guillaume was head of enterprise business at Envivio. He led the founding of the Enterprise Work Group at the Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA) and is a regular speaker at conferences. Here he shares his entrepreneurial journey with us.

SM: Where do you come from? What is your background?

GC: I was born in Bordeaux, France. I grew up in the southwest of France, where my family still lives. I moved to Paris to study and lived there for about 10 years before moving to the States. >>>

Hydro Energy Entrepreneur Wayne Krouse (Part 1)

Wayne F. Krouse is the chairman, chief executive officer, and founder of Hydro Green Energy. He founded the company in 2002 after a short but distinguished career with Nalco/Exxon Energy Chemicals. He was the Research & Development chairperson of the National Hydropower Association in 2007.

SM: Wayne, where do you come from?

WK: I am originally from Natchez, Mississippi. My family moved around a lot. We also lived in Houston and Memphis for periods of time, but we always came back to Mississippi. My senior year of high school we were in Memphis. I then went to Tulane University [in New Orleans] and got a degree in chemical engineering. >>>

Bringing On WebEx 2.0: DimDim CEO DD Ganguly (Part 1)

DD Ganguly is the CEO of DimDim, a company which offers free online meeting platforms. He began his career as an entrepreneur by starting Advanced Internet Management, which was bought out by CA. He then served as the VP of Product Development at CA until founding DimDim. He studied computer science at IIT, Kharagpur and earned his master’s from Syracuse. >>>

From English Prof to Tech Startup CEO: Steve Adams of Sabrix (Part 1)

Most technology executives with over 20 years of experience did not start their careers as English professors. They certainly don’t start as British literature PhDs teaching in Louisiana. Meet Steve Adams, CEO of Sabrix. Anything but ordinary, Steve has tremendous vision and an incredible track record of success. He worked his way from an entry-level tech writer to VP of marketing, senior VP of marketing, to the president and CEO of multiple high tech companies. Today he is the CEO of Sabrix, a managed tax service company for small- and mid-sized companies. A perfect fit for a British lit PhD, don’t you think?

SM: Steve, give me some context about where you come from. What is your personal story?

SA: I actually came from academia. I have a PhD in British literature and was a university professor for seven years. >>>

How Rafat Ali Found a Job (Part 1)

Rafat Ali is a journalist, pioneering blogger, and entrepreneur. Editor & Publisher has called Rafat “journalism’s poster boy for career independence from news companies”. I am very pleased to share his story of persistence and success.

SM: Where are you from? Where did you grow up?

RA: I was born in the UK, but my family is from the northern part of India. My father was a professor and lived in the US, the UK, and other parts of Europe. For the first five years of my life, I grew up in Denver. Then we moved back to India, where I lived until I was 25. >>>

More Bootstrapping: VirtualTourist.com Co-Founder J.R. Johnson (Part 1)

VirtualTourist.com is a Web 3.0 travel community where users and locals share real travel advice and experiences. It is a source of unbiased, user-generated travel content and a premier resource for travelers seeking an insider’s perspective on their upcoming travels. Real travel tips, reviews, and photos are provided by a community of over 1 million users, bring real context to travelers as they plan their next journey.

SM: Let’s start by going back to the beginning. Where does your journey start?

JJ: I was born in Manhattan Beach, California but raised in Westlake Village, a middle-class suburb on the Ventura County/L.A. County border. >>>

Building Indian Mobile Banking: mChek CEO Sanjay Swamy (Part 1)

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Sanjay Swamy is the CEO of mChek, a mobile payment platform developed in collaboration with VISA. The company has enabled users to access their Indian bank-issued credit or debit card via their cell phones. It has quickly become India’s largest mobile payments platform.

SM: Tell me where your journey begins. Where were you born and raised?

SS: I grew up in India. I was born in Chennai but I am from Bangalore. >>>

Still Bullish On Salesforce.com

Despite crossing the $1 billion annual revenue milestone, Salesforce.com’s shares plunged amidst concerns about its “slow growth” and lower-than-expected deferred revenue and guidance. >>>